Author: New Little Wife

I’m not even going to try and justify the excessively long time I’ve been gone, and instead apologize and try to win back your love with some photos of what we have been up too.. Mainly of the impressively big belly I’m sporting these days;)

Life has been life here as we prepare for Tiny Tunnell who is set to join us in about a month. *WAIT WHAT*

I have somehow gone from this…

to this

to this

And now this.

And I’m not even done;)

We have been doing up our little house, having some birthdays, a super lovely baby shower and fun things like fixing both the car that managed to break down. #Life

But the best thing by far.. I also got A NEW NEPHEW.

Meet Baby Amos;

He is so adorable! I just want to get on a plane, fly on over and squeeze him for days!

For those of you keeping track, this is the second little blessing to join our family this YEAR. With the third coming *hopefully* sooner rather than later;)

So ss we start preparing for our little blessing, let me know of any good tips/must haves/ ect before we head into this crazy ride called parenthood!

Also, last chance to place your guesses about what we are having! We don’t know, so if ya have a feeling, comment below!

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I am currently 6 months along with our first little blessing, if your new around here, head to this page for a few FQA and such.

For those of you who have been following along on our journey with Tiny Tunnell, you would know that the first few.. months.. were less than perfect. And for those of you who didnt, ya do now.

Now I don’t wanna be all dramatic *for once 😉 * and I know that sooooo many mamas have it way worse and I haven’t had this like 7 times *first baby and all* but I thought I would write a post about some good hacks and tips that helped us all survive the first 20 weeks.

This is for 2, nay 3, reasons;

First, some of these may be a little different that the normal tips you read online.

Second, enough mama’s have asked me lately for some ideas to try.

Three, I like to rave. Ha.

Like I say, some of these are kooky, and some might not be super up your ally, but take what ya want. We found some of these out from sheer desperation. Ha.

Let’s get started!

Fluids. Keep them up. They help . A LOT. With feeling blah and cramping. However, when ya tossing your cookies every five minutes, chugging a smart water aint gonna happen. So, enter the humble tea and lemonade.
Make some weak, like weaaaakkkk tea and sip, lots. Its calming on the tummy, and warms those cramps muscles. I loved black and herbal.
Also, get some lemonade, the non carbonated stuff, and dilute it wayyyy down and sip sip sip. The sugar give you a little pep and it sits better on your tummy. You can also try juice and home made electrolyte popsicles.

Stretching & Sun. I know, this one sucks, cause you don’t wanna move, but even if you just get into good old child’s pose, or some baby back bends, it can help. Moving a little, and sometimes taking your mind of things, helps. Along with this, go and lie in the sun on some grass. The sun always helps, and I’m positive the grass is grounding or something.

Get in your bath. I’m not kidding when I say that I ate in the bath everyday for weeks. It was the only was food was staying down, so in I got. Put some salts in and lie down a little. Breathe deep. Seth found me here on the regular, at all hours. #WhateverWorks

Herbs. Now I am in NO WAY a herbal practitioner, so go see someone who is, but there are a fair few herbs that can help ease some of that crazy. And if you can keep them down, they work a charm;)

Food. Eat it. Little, often and what you feel like. Don’t try to shove something down cause you feel like you should be having it. If you don’t feel like it, don’t eat it, cause its just going to head back up. So focus on things you feel like, and simple foods. Fruit is always a winner. As is rice.

In this same idea, try to prep food or buy prepped foods so you simply have to unwrap, heat up or whatever. This is where we all give thanks for places like Trader Joe’s that have healthy single meals frozen that are ready in three minutes. #LifeSaving

Crack that back. Don’t do it yourself tho;) Head to your chiropractor/osteopath and get a good back crack. It’s amazing how much this helps. Find someone good to work with (and make sure you explain to them that your pregnant too!) It releases so much pressure and helps loosen you up!

Oils. Put that stuff all over ya self girl. We are a little hippie over here in this house, and we have manyyyy essential oils. It’s a small obsession. But they are amazing, and powerful and work and have no side effects and all the things. I use them all day and all night to help ease hot flushes, soreness ect. If you want more info or suggestions on this, let me know! I’d be happy to help:)

Body pillows. You’ll be wanting one pretty soon, but get one early and use it to prop your head up and cuddle into. Sometimes just simply rising your head a little when you lie down/sleep helps.

Well, I hope these help! The only other thing I would say is Just Try It.

Try the ginger tea, the wrist bands, bath time and the back crack. Sometimes it takes a few goes to hit something that works, so try it all. You never know.

If you have any other tips, share below and help all the other mama’s out!

Love,

New Little *Stop-The-Voms* Wife.

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So a few posts ago I mentioned that I wanted to paint an old dresser. I know I promised to show you the other two rooms we re did, but we have had a lot of people staying at our house this summer, and TBH they are still messy. Ha.

So Y’all can just get a dresser update today;)

It wasn’t as terrible as I thought. Hurrah.

So, without further ado, here it is!

It looked like this before.

And here it is now!

It’s actually more grey than this shows.

I looked high and low for dresser knobs, and I found some I loved but they were all like SIX DOLLARS PER KNOB.

Which, for 8 knobs, it would be… Expensive.

And I wasn’t up for that. So in the end I got these beauties for under $2 each from.. Home Depot;)

I like ’em.

I also had this mat (I brought with me all the way from Australia!) It’s my mediation mat, and I added it to the top of the dresser to give it more spunk and color. I kinda dig it.

And of course, I have started a little nursery library #BookWorm. See any of your favorites up there? Any good suggestions to add?

Next up on the painting list, we have this little lamp! Any ideas? I’m thinking coral?

Love,

New Little *Painting* Wife

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The draws fell off and the wheels didn’t move and all the things. During the house redo, I just shoved it in a corner, but since we are done *Hurrah* I needed to do something about it.I saw this little beauty of a dresser at a thrift store and decided that I could use the large bottom draw as a place for files, IF i condensed it.
Turns out we have a lot of files. Like a lot.

So I sat down in a mess of papers for a day and went thru each one, it was a longggg day, but I got thru it and they fit in the draw and ALL WAS WELL.

About now your all “ok so whats that got to do with egypt. These papers made with reeds from the Nile river or something girlfriend? Cause ya just raving!”
That I am, but I promise there is a point.

In my file culling and re arranging I came across a tinyyyyy little paper with about three lines on it. And it made me cry.

Call me sappy, or just super hormonal. Y’all would not be wrong there. {6 months preggers and those hormone are flowing!}

But this little paper had me stop and just thank God. Really.

You see, back in our first year of marriage we had a lot going on. actually, that is a huge understatement.

In that first year we had a few weddings {All for us – wedding hogs;)} moved houses a few times, lived with my lovely in-laws and then bought this little place. We worked through immigration and became leaders of our youth group, all the while my hub worked full-time.

Yeah.
It was fun, crazy, kinda stressful. And in Nov I wound up in the emergency room of our local hospital.

With no health insurance.

If you read that and you live in the US, you get where this is going.
If you don’t, lets just say it’s not great.
And even though we were only there for a few hours, we somehow found our selves with a huge medical bill.

We were worried. And as 20-year-old newly weds who had a crazy year including buying a house, it seemed like we finally hit the “too much” button.

We talked, and prayed, and met with the hospital to figure this all out.

Months went by, and nothing. We got nervous, but kept going. Life kept happening.

And then God stepped in, like He always does, and he brought us out of Egypt.

A little paper came and it said that we owed nothing.

Not a thing.

Paid in full.

Which had shivers down my spine then, and still does now, cause it reminds me so much of something else that got paid in full for me.

And I sat on my bathroom floor, with papers around me, and cried.

Because I remember being 20 and scared, with too much going on, overwhelmed and seeming silence from Heaven.

Only to find that I was wrong *Again* and God had a plan.

Then I felt sad.
Sad that I had forgotten about how God had brought me from “Egypt” and led me out. Sad that I would forget such a huge blessing he placed in my life. Sad that He moves mountains, and I don’t even remember.

How many other times had he done this for me? How many times did I cry to God for deliverance, and receive it, only to go on my merry way again and forget?

I know people say to never look back, keep going forward. It’s not where you’re from, but were you are going. And sure, part of that is true.

But some of it is not.

We should look back. If only to remember.

We should look back and remember what God has done.Remember where we were, what He did, and how he lead us out of Egypt.
To think about those amazing miracles He did, the water he moved, and the dry ground he placed us on.

Why do this? Wont we get sad/mad/down?
Oh no no. Do it, because we become thankful, grateful and filled with love.
Do it because we are reminded that HE HAS A PLAN. He IS listening. And He IS in control.

It builds our faith. It helps us get thru the next hurdle, the next trial, that we face.

The next time we are in an “Egypt” we remember those times God came and He saved.

We look at what God has brought us through and from, we thank Him and we charge ahead, knowing that He’ll do it again.

There are over 87 mentioned of God taking Israel out of egypt. He commands them to remember, to go back and think, and to still be in awe of His mighty hand. And He commands us too remember too.

So I sat there and thought.

I started counting all my “Egypts” and all the my “dry grounds” that God then placed me.

There are many. And as I went thru I realized something…

And not once, NOT ONE TIME, was I left in my mud, building bricks. Not once was a left a slave. Left alone, with no salvation.

Sometimes it sure felt like 400 years, and it wasn’t easy, but He always came and led me out.

Every. Single. Time.

And I know I’ll end up there again, mostly from my own stupidity I’m sure, and I’ll toil and work and cry out.

But I know, 1000% that I will be led out of Egypt. I don’t know anyone with a better track record for saving than The Lord God Almighty.

And remember that, at the end of the day, He will lead you to the best promised land, and you don’t need to worry, because you too have been paid in full.

Love,

New Little *Out-Of-Egpyt* Wife.

Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.His love endures forever.2 Give thanks to the God of gods.His love endures forever.3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:His love endures forever.

4 to him who alone does great wonders,His love endures forever.5 who by his understanding made the heavens,His love endures forever.6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,His love endures forever.7 who made the great lights—His love endures forever.8 the sun to govern the day,His love endures forever.9 the moon and stars to govern the night;His love endures forever.

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of EgyptHis love endures forever.11 and brought Israel out from among themHis love endures forever.12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;His love endures forever.

13 to him who divided the Red Sea[a] asunderHis love endures forever.14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,His love endures forever.15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;His love endures forever.

16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;His love endures forever.

17 to him who struck down great kings,His love endures forever.18 and killed mighty kings—His love endures forever.19 Sihon king of the AmoritesHis love endures forever.20 and Og king of Bashan—His love endures forever.21 and gave their land as an inheritance,His love endures forever.22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.His love endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our low estateHis love endures forever.24 and freed us from our enemies.His love endures forever.25 He gives food to every creature.His love endures forever.

We had been going on it since Nov. of last year. I know. That’s a shamefully long time.

In our rather weak defense, we had christmas, an over-seas trip, a baby announcement, a few other weekends away and dog thrown in. So we were busy, just maybe a little slow in the house department.

Anywhoo, here we are.

New carpet and all.

We had extra motivation cause my parents were coming over, and I’m not sure they would have slept on a concrete floor with no bed frame, closet or clean bathroom.
So, that gave us a little kick up the toosh.

I don’t have many (Or any?!) photos of the old rooms to show you *Rookie Error*

But i’ll show you some pictures of the new ones anyway, cause I want too.

Here is our Living Room;

Nice new carpet! YAY. And I LOVE the green/blue of the wall.
I dunno what to do with all those cords in the corner.
Ideas anyone?

And our little table. I know. I have a lot of teal-y colour in my house;)

Alfie wanted in a photo;)

We are still de cluttering, un packing from the carpet installment and our little vacay and all the things, so it’s a little C R A Z Y and most the house it still a pit. That’s my excuse anyway, and I’m keeping it. So Ha.

And our Master;

Fairy lights though. ❤
And after ALL the 27 color swatches we tested, we both LOVE the grey.
Just as well;)

We need a new curtain color, WAY to much grey going on up in there girlfriend. Any suggestions? I was thinking a blue/green/teal.. incase I havent got enough already. Haha.

Some people are crazy cat ladies, I am a crazy scarf lady. They even have there own basket. I may need an intervention soon.

This week I’m working on the Nursery and Guest Room, so stay tuned for that;)

I have decided to paint this huge dresser and re vamp it for the baby. We have tons of paint left after all, and now I have the DIY bug.
Altho mine must have glitches, cause my DIYs rarely turn out. WHATEVZ. I going for it. I’ll update you, and you can all watch me fail. Lucky its going in the closet;)

If it works out half well, I’m going to tackle some other wooden piece that are kinda knock about and need a little TLC. I know. I’m channeling my inner Joanna Gaines;)

And then last week my lovely hubby announced that maybe we should move houses and buy a fixer upper.

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*We finally finished house *ALL THE PARISE HANDS**My parents came to visit and we took a trip to Tahoe, which was splendid.
*Summer hit with all it’s crazy andddddddd I managed to get fat. Ha.

Today, we will chat about the latter. I hope to fill you in about the rest later, although knowing my track record, it might be a while. Promise i’ll try tho.

M’kay, let’s get into it!

So I’m gonna do a little Q&A thing about the babe; Here goes!

When are we due?

Well TBH babes come with they want, haha, but the dates say late November, so right around thanksgiving. Yes, the joke about me going into labour at thanksgiving dinner has been said.. maybe more than once;)

How far along are we?

At the moment we are right around 18 weeks.
The last six have FLOWN by and I can’t believe we are almost half way. SO EXCITED to be out of the first trimester. Cause, let’s be real, it is horrible. I’m now enjoying being pregnant a lot more, which is nice. Don’t get me wrong, we were always excited, but when you literally CANT.STOP.VOMITTING some times is hard to enjoy it.

Any cravings?

Here is were I announce that the baby is ALL Seth. Like, it is not even funny.

Anyone that knows him would know of his incredible love for meat, ice cream and long showers.

I, on the other hand, am a lover of fresh salads, plenty of veggies and tea. But do ya think the babe wants any of that. NOT A CHANCE.

A few weeks ago, This child rejected four dinners before it got icecream. *And my hub fist bumped my tummy and said “atta boy”.*

So I’m eating steak like a caveman and have given in *for now* to it’s demands.

I did manage to drink a half gallon of OJ in two days, which I tend not to drink, plus, if I feel like something suppppperrr strong, nothing else will do. And I mean nothing. Picky thing.

How did we find out?

This one is a little funny. For those who don’t know, my sister Kez is also expecting! She’s about 6 weeks ahead of me, and when she told us we were all excited! I planned on taking a trip out to see the babe on Nov after it was born (HAHA).

The next morning Seth and I were chatting about the newest babe on the way. Then Seth made a comment which got me thinking and*long story short* an hour (and a lot of surprise later) we were talking about OUR OWN babe on the way! Crazy!!
So fun to have SO many babies so close together!

Any morning sickness?

I don’t even want to talk about this. Haha. See previous post. Also, That name is a lie.
All day, all night.
Thankfully, we are slowly down in that regard.. which has us all excited and me eating like a demon to make up for the 14 weeks of nothing but toast! Around week 16 it started letting off, altho don’t ask my parents about how it went in Tahoe… Haha.

Do we want a boy or girl?

We don’t care. We are going for a happy healthy baby! Seth family is pretty much boys and mine is pretty much girls, so the battle is on;)

But that leads us to then next question which is…..

Are we finding out what it it?

We are… NOT. I know. Bold move.

It’s gonna be a surprise til the very end. Extra motivation to push. Ha. Really tho, my sisters both don’t ever find out, and there was veiled threats made about what would happen should I choose to break that tradition;)

Do I have a belly?

I have legit had one since 7 weeks *Thanks Bloating!* Around 13 weeks it came out, and now there is no looking back. I forget sometimes and smack it into things. Haha. Poor bebe. See below for a few belly shots:)

These are around 12-14 weeks

16 weeks at Tahoe. Ignore the strange face, was probably about to be sick. Haha.

And lastly..

Any plans to head home?

We are planning on *hopefully* earlier next year! Gonna head back and show Tiny T off:)

Also, Apparently, these are things I now say;

“I’m only vomitting cause I skipped third breakfast.”

“Babe.. I spent $45 on dried beef sticks from Trader Joes.”

*At MacDonalds* Seth; Sharnz, Did you wan- Me; Large Oreo Mcflurry.

“Doing well, I only threw up four times today. So I’m calling it a win.”

“Can I have another beef stick please..?* five minutes later… “And another one.. ”.. “and maybe one more?”

Haha, Gee the things we do for our kiddos. Parenting start from day one, thats for sure! But so does the love. And we sure love ya tiny sprout, vomit, beef sticks and all:)

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I have a good reason for not posting these last six weeks, I promise. It’s the best one yet;)

Some of you many already know but….

We are expecting our first little babe!

I know. Crazy.

Hence the reason I have been MIA these last six weeks.

This little babe is a dramatic one, to say the least. I gotta say though, It comes by the drama gene honest.
A fact my family members remind me of daily;)

We found out about five weeks ago and since then its been a crazy ride!

I was blessed with morning sickness from six weeks on which was not fun for anyone. AT ALL.

My poor hubs barley slept for two weeks, because unlike the name suggests, it’s not JUST in the morning.

And in my case it was 24/7 for a solid 2+ weeks. Which meant my hubs was waking at 12 am (and 2, 3;30, & 5 ect) to a wife that was heaving in a bucket next to him.

Just Delightful.

He being the amazing hubs he is, was up every time to help me. #SnaggedAGoodOne

Also, fun fact you can have “Morning sickness” both ways *if ya get my drift* Ask me how I know;)

Anyway, that has been slowing down a little (Thank God, Really!!) and mama is getting a little more food down.

About now is when I give a huge shout out to my lovely mother in law and Grammy, who came and fed and clothed us plus cleaned my house and helped with errands for the last few weeks. Life Savers. Really though.

You know it’s getting bad when you text your husband asking if he has eaten recently and if there actually WAS anything to eat in the house. #WifeOfTheYear.

We are thankful for A LOT of things!

*That this little bean appears to be growing well.
*That I get the chance to carry and grow a little baby.
*That we are otherwise healthy and doing well.

We are SO excited to met this little one!

Feels like it’s going so slow, but we have a busy summer planned so I’m sure it will fly by. Until then, Grow big and string little babe!

So, that’s the big news from this little wife!

If you have any pregnancy tips (MAINLY ON MORNING SICKNESS) please share!

And join us over the next six months as we prepare to welcome this Tiny Tunnell into the world!

Love,

New Little *Mama-To-Be* Wife

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.